Earlier today the gang at DC Collectibles posted their latest Q&A on their official blog. These questions were taken from fan’s questions at recent cons and their Facebook page:

When we say the word “action,” what do you think about? Well, if you think of action figures, then look no further. You’ve just hit the bulls-eye. The fine folks from DC Collectibles are back with a new edition of Ask DC Collectibles, our monthly feature where you ask questions on Facebook and we answer them here in THE SOURCE. This month, our topic is action figures, which due to their articulation and affordability have long been a favorite of collectors. We touched on the little guys (and the not-so-little ones—have you SEEN this months Titan Joker figure?) in our first edition of Ask DC Collectibles, but we’re about to open the floodgates and answer a bunch of your questions on action figures. Or to use more appropriate terms, you could say we’re about to articulate our best answers to some of the questions you posed.

Eh, how about we just get started?

The NewArkhamCity figures have new articulations, is it going to be a new standard?

We haven’t settled on a new standard yet, but you will be seeing some new articulation on certain figures going forward. The Batman in our upcoming Arkham City line will feature greater articulation, and you can look for more examples near the end of 2013.

Our Arkham City Batman is one of our most articulate figures yet (which means you can pose him, not that you can talk to him…if our Batman figure starts talking to you, RUN!).

Do you have plans on making Arrow action figures?

Let’s take a shot at answering this one. (And, um, let’s not make any more bad Arrow puns.)

Currently there are no plans, but with the show doing so well there is a good chance that DC Collectibles or a licensing partner will want to explore that option. And while it’s technically not an action figure, if you can’t get enough of Arrow, you might want to check out DC Collectibles’ 12” Arrow statue coming out next year.

I miss the black round figure stands, will you consider re-introducing them?

To help combat the rising costs of action figures, we removed the stands. We’re looking at other ways of offering the stands for those who want them but we have no plans to include them in with figures going forward.

Will you give attention to “minor” characters like Grifter?

Right now, the action figure lines are focused on Justice League and the Arkham video games. Within those lines, we definitely try to offer a mix of high profile and “minor” characters. (Though we doubt Cole Cash would take too kindly to being called minor!) Parademon, Joker Thugs and Mad Hatter are some examples of deeper characters. But we won’t stop there. Look for a range of characters in 2013 and 2014 that will diversify the selection while still keeping our major heroes out in the spotlight.

“We heard someone around here’s been calling us ‘minor’…”

Can you have the Green Lantern 2-Packs available to the public instead of only Cons?

We produced a certain number of Green Lantern 3 3/4″ 2-Packs for conventions in 2012. For the sets that were at San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic-Con, there was a certain quantity left over. If you’re interested in snagging one of these sets, you can go to our partner Graphitti Designs’ website to order them while supplies last. Check out GraphittiDesigns.com and go to the “DC Collectibles” tab to get your order on.

Will you continue to propose story arcs/artist-based figure series?

Yes! We love celebrating storylines and our wonderful artists. Currently the Justice League line inspired by Jim Lee’s art is in the spotlight, but in 2013 and 2014 we will be looking at additional storylines and artists. Also look out for some upcoming polls on the DC Collectibles Facebook page where you can tell us what storylines and artists you would most like to see.

Web-store exclusives are a great idea. We are constantly evaluating our product line-up. With last year’s launch of DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 we made several decisions regarding which lines will move forward or not, mostly to make room for all of the exciting things we had planned for this year and 2013. The result of those tough decisions is that we are not moving forward with JL Heroes & Foes or DCU Online.

Why not broaden the “themes” of each wave? “DC Dark,” “Earth 2,” etc…?

While the main DC Comics action figure waves have been focused on Jim Lee’s Justice League style, a broader offering will be seen in 2013 and 2014.

Why not stop using flesh-colored plastic and return to painting the skin tones?

We’ve chosen to use a flesh-colored plastic for our action figures whenever it makes the most sense. You can see it in some of the new Arkham City line and our Wonder Woman figure. The idea is to give it a more realistic look by not requiring paint over the plastic. This works most efficiently on the characters showing the most skin. With Batman figures, we can sometimes start with a black or grey plastic and then just paint the bit of flesh that is visible. So expect to see flesh-colored plastics from time to time where we can get the best use from it.

Amazon Princesses sure have such lovely skin…

When and where will the 3 ¾” figure Green Lantern Central Power Battery display be released?

You mean this Central Power Battery display?

Unfortunately, there are no current plans to release it. However, we are still working on plans for our 3 ¾” action figures and can assure you the playset is a big part of it. Stay tuned.

Daniel “Julius Marx” Pickett has been around toys his whole life. The first line he ever collected was Mego’s World’s Greatest Super Heroes line back in the 70s. He has been surrounded by collectables ever since.
In 1999 he was confounded by a lack of information and news about some of his favorite toy lines he was collecting. Since he couldn’t find the information he decided to pursue it himself thinking other people might also be interested in the same news. He started writing a weekly column on the toy industry and action figure for a toy news site and in a years time he tripled the sites daily traffic with his updates, reviews and product features.
He built relationships with every major toy manufacturer and many sculptors, painters and mold makers. He grew his hobby into a world wide expertise that the industry has embraced.
In 2004 he teamed up with his toy buddy Jason “ToyOtter” Geyer and they created their own website www.ActionFigureInsider.com.
Daniel has been quoted in both industry and mass media press outlets. Over the years Daniel and AFi have been sought out as experts in the field. Daniel was regularly featured on “Attack of the Show” on the G4 network as the primary contributor to their “Mint On Card” segment, and our front page has been linked to from USA Today’s
“Pop Candy” Blog twice. Daniel’s content has also been featured on MSNBC.com,
Wired.com, Fark.com, Boing-Boing, Gizmodo.com, Ain’t It Cool News, the Official
Star Wars blog, Geekologie, G4, CNet and Toy Fare magazine, among many
others. He has consulted on toy lines, books, documentaries and TV shows.
But all of that really just sounds snooty and “tootin’ his own horn” – the long and short of it is that Daniel loves toys and he LOVES talking about them.